2 dogs have become infected with the virus
Living in the SARS-CoV-2 era (distancing, wash hands, wear mask to protect others, but OK to go outside)
Thu, 2020-03-19 23:44
#252
Fri, 2020-03-20 01:38
#253
Coronavirus Curated: Top Links for March 19
The web’s top reads on COVID-19 collected today by The Tyee.
I'm getting tired of exageration in articles. The first one on cleaning is over the top. Unless you have someone infected in the home it is not necessary to use a fresh hand towel for every hand wash or paper towels. If afraid of bringing it in the house by all means wash hands and put the towel in the laundry but the coronavirus can't get into your home unless you or someone else brings it in. I suppose someone could cough into an open window but that is unlikely.
Where does it say you have to replace the towel every time? I could not find that. It says have stacks of clean towels or paper towels. When you wash your hands in the house use the same towel. When you go out and come back in use that towel once and then replace it. You should not be going out enough for this to be a burden.
It is important to have a area in the house (yellow zone) where you discinfect things before they are brought in to the rest of the house. Only go in this zone when entering or leaving. Wipe everything coming in with soap or lysol etc (or place in a box you do not touch for 10 days).
This is not an exaggeration. This is how to be safe.
The problem is people not taking this seriously enough -- not people being too stringent.
Fri, 2020-03-20 04:37
#254
Strict social distancing and good hygiene will arrest the spread of COVID-19 according to the experts
Fri, 2020-03-20 06:47
#255
I do hope no ijuts decide to abandon their non-human animal companions...
Fri, 2020-03-20 11:21
#256
USA now has the 6th highest number of cases now at 14,250 infected. Canada is 19th with 873
Fri, 2020-03-20 11:25
#257
Is China to blame for the Covid-19 pandemic?
- Most of us are not in the blame game for scientific precision, but to satisfy petty desires, an ideology, a personal hatred and distaste, or just blind prejudice
https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3076200/china-blame-covid-19-pandemic
Fri, 2020-03-20 11:39
#258
Informative article and it explains why there is no reason to believe that warmer weather will slow SARS-CoV-2 down.
Why the Coronavirus Has Been So Successful
We’ve known about SARS-CoV-2 for only three months, but scientists can make some educated guesses about where it came from and why it’s behaving in such an extreme way.
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2020/03/biography-new-coronavirus/608338/
Fri, 2020-03-20 11:52
#259
This Is How We Can Beat the Coronavirus
Mitigation can buy us time, but only suppression can get us to where we need to be.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/03/how-we-beat-coronavirus/608389/
Fri, 2020-03-20 12:09
#260
Monkeys Develop Protective Antibodies to SARS-CoV-2
https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/monkeys-develop-protective-antibodies-to-sars-cov-2-67281
Fri, 2020-03-20 12:52
#261
This YouTube stream is constantly updating the latest figures from all countries, plus it has a slideshow of various charts and graphs, all with a quiet, ambient sound track. It can be quite hypnotizing, at least to me. As if this moment, it shows Canada at 924 cases.
Fri, 2020-03-20 14:46
#262
BC is fortunate to have a very forthright and knowledgeable Public Health Officer. She has the legal authority to order people indoors and have it enforced. For now she is trying the social distancing approach but methinks that we are going to get stricter rules in the next few days as the cases rise.
Of interest in BC during the Spanish flu there was no Public Health Authority and the municipalities were given the authority to quarantine and take other measures. One of the lessons learnt was it had to be provincial not local because many people just ignored it. Go online and search for images of the November 11, 1918 celebrations in Canada, then think about the fact that most of the country was supposedly under quarantine of some sort or other.
But Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry made clear today that while everyone is encouraged to get outdoors for fresh air — if people don't start following her voluntary directives, she'll have no choice but to impose orders.
“This is not business as usual,” she said during her daily briefing on the pandemic today, March 19. She stressed the need for everyone to follow the rules of social distancing and not meeting in larger groups.
“We are, obviously, watching this very carefully,” she said. “I can’t say it enough. This is not optional. This is for everybody and we do have the legal authority to enforce it.... This is not a normal time and we need to keep those distances between us,” she said. “While we need to keep essential services going, we need to make sure that we’re able to get the groceries that we need and sometimes hardware that we need if we have issues in our home – but, right now, is a time we want everybody to lay low."
...
Anyways this is great info that applies across the country.
Here are the basic Dos and Don'ts of social distancing, as advised by the Public Health Agency of Canada and chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam:
DO
- Stay home as much as possible.
- Get fresh air, go for a jog or walk your dog but always keep two metres (six feet or about two arms-lengths) distance from other people.
- Go to the grocery store or pharmacy as needed but keep the two-metre distance and wash your hands upon your return home. Shopping online and arranging to have things dropped off at your home is even better.
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after using the washroom and when preparing food. The extra scrubbing time matters. Use hand sanitizer if soap and water aren't available.
- Cough or sneeze into a tissue or the bend of your arm, not your hand. Dispose of any tissues as soon as possible in a lined wastebasket and wash your hands afterwards.
- Clean high-touch surfaces frequently with regular household cleaners or diluted bleach (1 part bleach to 9 parts water). This includes things like doorknobs, toys, toilets, phones, electronics, remote controls and bedside tables.
- Use technology to keep in touch with people at higher risk like the elderly or those in poor health. Avoid personal contact.
DON'TS
- Avoid non-essential gatherings. That means no visits with your neighbours or friends, no play dates, no sleepovers, no parties and especially no public gatherings in crowded spaces, like conferences, concerts or sporting events (if there are any on).
- Avoid public transportation or, if you must use it, travel at uncrowded hours.
- Don't shake hands or kiss cheeks in greeting.
- Don't touch your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands.
https://infotel.ca/newsitem/confused-about-your-responsibilities-to-stay...
Fri, 2020-03-20 16:02
#263
The technology exists to enforce quarantines using cellphone tower information. This is the time to use such technology.
As for rights there is a point here: all rights are relative to each other. The right to privacy at times can be compromised by a need arising from the right to safety. Absolute rights do not exist becuase one person's right interacts with another. This is the same situation when it comes to hate speech - we balance the right not to be subjected to hate against the right to speech and we outlaw hate speech. Rights, since they are not absolutes have to arbitrated fairly in the interest of people. This is a time when we are confronted with the need to have more sophisticated and less simplistic assertions of rights.
Fri, 2020-03-20 17:13
#264
The cruise industry has failed miserably during the crisis Apart from not shutting down nowhere near early enough there are obviously huge hygiene issues on their ships This is apart from their global warming aspects
Fri, 2020-03-20 19:04
#265
The virus-afflicted numbers are skyrocketing with over 271,000 cases and USA alone now has over 18,000 cases, and Canada has almost 1,000 cases.
Fri, 2020-03-20 19:07
#266
COVID-19: B.C. health officials announce 77 new cases of COVID-19
Fri, 2020-03-20 19:18
#267
Fri, 2020-03-20 19:20
#268
Donald Trump’s Cult of Personality Did This
The autocratic political culture that has propped up the Trump administration has left the nation entirely unprepared for an economic and public-health calamity.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/03/donald-trump-menace-public-health/608449/
Fri, 2020-03-20 19:22
#269
What You Need to Know About the Coronavirus
The Atlantic’s guide to navigating a global pandemic
Fri, 2020-03-20 19:31
#270
That all seems pretty sensible. But like a lot of the sound advice here, it might be a bit classist. I know maybe one person who dislikes vegetables. But above in this thread there is advice to avoid public transport. I hope they mean people should walk or cycle (or similar exercise adapted for people with various disabilities) but many poor workers live far from their workplaces and even here in supposedly pro-public-transport Montréal, there has been 30 years of stalling on extending the blue line and bringing in the pink line - which would make commutes far easier for poor, immigrant workers in northeastern Montréal, many of whom work in healthcare.
For many, avoiding public transport will mean continuing to rely on cars, and worse, SUVs, which are especially lethal for pedestrians, especially smaller female ones of a certain age, as well as children.
Fri, 2020-03-20 22:26
#271
Quite the dilemma.
-------------------------------
Infectious Disease Experts Don’t Know How Bad The Coronavirus Is Going To Get, Either
The top-line numbers are sobering. The most recent survey, taken on March 16 and 17, found that, as a group, the experts think that as March 15, only 12 percent of infections in the U.S. had been reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They think there’s a 73 percent chance of a second wave of hospitalizations this fall. And they expect approximately 200,000 deaths in the U.S. by the end of the year.
Fri, 2020-03-20 23:50
#272
Sobering stats
As Italy skyrockets with 6,000 new COVID-19 cases and over 600 new deaths, California orders statewide lockdown
Sat, 2020-03-21 00:21
#273
Humankind, all of us, are going to have to undergo major changes in behaviour immediately, and follow the advice of epidemiologists to stop the spread of SARS-CoV-2, including physical distancing, dramatically enhanced personal and surrounding areas hygiene, substantially improved physical fitness and diet, testing, tracking, protection of health care workers, and taking the load off hospitals, and putting a complete stop to the blame game, false rumours, conspiracy theories, and fear mongering.
Former CDC director: There's a long war ahead and our Covid-19 response must adapt
Different times call for different measures. When Covid-19 hit China, I was concerned, as were many public health professionals, about what could happen and urged rapid action to understand more and prepare. But few of us anticipated the catastrophic impact the new virus has had in Wuhan, in Italy and may soon have in many other places.
For most people, there is simply no frame of reference for this pandemic. Never in our lifetime has there been an infectious disease threat as devastating to society. Never in our lifetime have we seen a rich country like Italy face the need to ration respirators. And never have we seen the fear that millions of health care workers around the world feel about being infected by the virus -- justified fear we must address.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/20/health/coronavirus-response-must-adapt-frieden-analysis/index.html
Sat, 2020-03-21 00:24
#274
We think we know why Wuhan is a hotpoint, because of their live animal markets, but what about Italy?
Sat, 2020-03-21 01:52
#275
‘A Storm Is Coming’: Fears of an Inmate Epidemic as the Virus Spreads in the Jails
A growing chorus of officials and public defenders in New York City are calling for the release of people who are especially vulnerable to the coronavirus. The alternative, they say, may be a public health catastrophe.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/20/nyregion/nyc-coronavirus-rikers-island.html
Sat, 2020-03-21 02:01
#276
Sat, 2020-03-21 02:17
#277
Coronavirus Will Change the World Permanently. Here’s How.
A crisis on this scale can reorder society in dramatic ways, for better or worse. Here are 34 big thinkers’ predictions for what’s to come.
Sat, 2020-03-21 11:56
#278
Nurses in Edmonton who have been been doing testing are out of face masks so are refusing to work which is good as number one we need to be protecting our front line of defence workers first and foremost. If there are any heroes coming out of this crisis it is out health care workers
Sat, 2020-03-21 13:19
#279
That all seems pretty sensible. But like a lot of the sound advice here, it might be a bit classist. I know maybe one person who dislikes vegetables. But above in this thread there is advice to avoid public transport. I hope they mean people should walk or cycle (or similar exercise adapted for people with various disabilities) but many poor workers live far from their workplaces and even here in supposedly pro-public-transport Montréal, there has been 30 years of stalling on extending the blue line and bringing in the pink line - which would make commutes far easier for poor, immigrant workers in northeastern Montréal, many of whom work in healthcare.
For many, avoiding public transport will mean continuing to rely on cars, and worse, SUVs, which are especially lethal for pedestrians, especially smaller female ones of a certain age, as well as children.
BC Transit around the province, the Crown that runs buses in all our regions, has begun making transit free. The rules are entry and exit by back doors only and all passengers must keep proper distance so the buses are meant to run as an essential service for the very reason that people without vehicles cannot access stores for basic necessities. I am hoping we turn a corner and that this temproary measure extends for long enough to become the norm.
BC Transit, the Province of BC, our local government partners and our local transit staff are continuing to work to ensure we have service on the road for customers that need to get to work, including health care facilities, and going out for groceries or other needs.
We are implementing rear door boarding, where available, across the province to enhance social distancing for drivers and passengers. Passengers can still load through the front door if they require use of the ramp or other accessible features of the bus.
In addition, customers will not be required to pay fares in all BC Transit communities for 30 days for all systems including conventional, community, and handyDART. We are working to implement these changes in communities as quickly as possible, and we would ask customers to be patient with us during this time.
These changes are being made to protect the health and safety of our operators and customers by creating the conditions for better social distancing.
Sat, 2020-03-21 13:52
#280
Excellent reporting
Disgusting blight on Canada, BC, District of North Vancouver and VCH.
Unionize the work force and start paying staff liveable wages.
This is outrageous. Management needs to turfed, and turfed now, and the nursing home care license revoked, and maybe even criminal charges laid!!!
How the coronavirus took North Vancouver’s Lynn Valley Care Centre
The nursing home witnessed Canada’s first death from COVID-19. Now, workers and patients’ families describe an understaffed facility with delayed communication, as authorities try to piece together how the virus was introduced here, and why it spread so quickly
Sat, 2020-03-21 13:35
#281
BC Transit around the province, the Crown that runs buses in all our regions, has begun making transit free. The rules are entry and exit by back doors only and all passengers must keep proper distance so the buses are meant to run as an essential service for the very reason that people without vehicles cannot access stores for basic necessities. I am hoping we turn a corner and that this temproary measure extends for long enough to become the norm.
The same thing has been done for the buses in Hamilton. By the way, our transit system is called the HSR, short for Hamilton Street Railway. All the actual streetcars were gone by the time I was in school, but electric trolley buses powered by overhead wires were still used well into the 1960s. Of course, public transit should have been free all this time, but perhaps this change (and others brought about by covid-19) will become permanent.
Sat, 2020-03-21 15:36
#282
Why does Russia, population 146 million, have fewer coronavirus cases than Luxembourg?
https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/21/europe/putin-coronavirus-russia-intl/index.html
Sat, 2020-03-21 15:50
#283
Fewer reported cases, huge increase in pneumonia deaths oddly enough
Sat, 2020-03-21 17:58
#284
Stacks of fresh hand towels and a hamper for dirty towels, or a roll of paper towels and a wastebasket
I'm getting tired of exageration in articles. The first one on cleaning is over the top. Unless you have someone infected in the home it is not necessary to use a fresh hand towel for every hand wash or paper towels.
Where does it say you have to replace the towel every time? I could not find that. It says have stacks of clean towels or paper towels. When you wash your hands in the house use the same towel. When you go out and come back in use that towel once and then replace it. You should not be going out enough for this to be a burden.
Using paper towels to dry your hands in your home is an exagerated response. By the time your hands touch the towel if the virus is still on them the towel won't wipe it off. There is no way for the towel to be contaminated unless your hands are still contaminated in which case the towel is the least of your worries.
Sat, 2020-03-21 18:41
#285
dp
Sat, 2020-03-21 18:40
#286
Stacks of fresh hand towels and a hamper for dirty towels, or a roll of paper towels and a wastebasket
I'm getting tired of exageration in articles. The first one on cleaning is over the top. Unless you have someone infected in the home it is not necessary to use a fresh hand towel for every hand wash or paper towels.Where does it say you have to replace the towel every time? I could not find that. It says have stacks of clean towels or paper towels. When you wash your hands in the house use the same towel. When you go out and come back in use that towel once and then replace it. You should not be going out enough for this to be a burden.Using paper towels to dry your hands in your home is an exagerated response. By the time your hands touch the towel if the virus is still on them the towel won't wipe it off. There is no way for the towel to be contaminated unless your hands are still contaminated in which case the towel is the least of your worries.
The purpose is if one person does not do a perfect job they do not contaminate the next. If you live by yourself or one other perhaps this is no biggie but in a communal house -- different story.
Yeah I don't like it when people assume their experience and reality is universal.
I rent to three people. Yes I am using paper towel in the main floor washroom not in the upstairs ones that only some people use.
The article refers to stacks of clean towels which is another option but in a communal house this may be an issue if you have enough traffic as you would be washing just towels very frequently.
Articles are not meant to be mandatory prescriptions - they are to make people think and consider what is good for them.
Sat, 2020-03-21 19:14
#287
I am seeing shoppers wearing latex gloves while shopping which if you have a way to sanitarily dispose of them seems like a good idea Think through whatever process you want but go through a couple of trial runs to iron out the wrinkles first such as how do you you remove the gloves where you put them etc
Sat, 2020-03-21 19:20
#288
Another thing we do now is ride up and down alone from others in the elevator and try to avoid touching the common buttons with our bare hands
Sat, 2020-03-21 20:45
#289
Sat, 2020-03-21 21:19
#290
Former Real Madrid president Lorenzo Sanz dies of coronavirus
- 76-year-old Sanz was president from 1995 to 2000
- In charge of club when 32-year European Cup drought ended
Sat, 2020-03-21 21:45
#291
Stacks of fresh hand towels and a hamper for dirty towels, or a roll of paper towels and a wastebasket
I'm getting tired of exageration in articles. The first one on cleaning is over the top. Unless you have someone infected in the home it is not necessary to use a fresh hand towel for every hand wash or paper towels.Where does it say you have to replace the towel every time? I could not find that. It says have stacks of clean towels or paper towels. When you wash your hands in the house use the same towel. When you go out and come back in use that towel once and then replace it. You should not be going out enough for this to be a burden.Using paper towels to dry your hands in your home is an exagerated response. By the time your hands touch the towel if the virus is still on them the towel won't wipe it off. There is no way for the towel to be contaminated unless your hands are still contaminated in which case the towel is the least of your worries.
The purpose is if one person does not do a perfect job they do not contaminate the next. If you live by yourself or one other perhaps this is no biggie but in a communal house -- different story.
Yeah I don't like it when people assume their experience and reality is universal.
I rent to three people. Yes I am using paper towel in the main floor washroom not in the upstairs ones that only some people use.
The article refers to stacks of clean towels which is another option but in a communal house this may be an issue if you have enough traffic as you would be washing just towels very frequently.
Articles are not meant to be mandatory prescriptions - they are to make people think and consider what is good for them.
No, you moved the goal posts. My objection was that it is an overabundance of caution to use paper towels and stacks of towels in general. In specific cases it is appropriate but that is not the same thing.
You replied that a fresh towel should be used every time you return from outdoors.
Again, unhelped, because if you contaminated the towel then your hands are still contaminated which defeats the purpose.
Now you add the caveat "if living with multiple people" but even that doesn't make sense. In that case washing the towel you used when entering the home is either useless or not enough. If Covid-19 is on the towel you used, it is also on your hands with which you will then contaminate other surfaces.
Using a separate towel each time gives a false sense of security because it is not a measure that will help stop the spread of the virus. If someone is concerned that they have brought it into the family home then the bathroom must be sanitized each time they use it if they can't use a separate bathroom and they should stay in a separate room and not share eating utensils etc.
Washing the towel serves no useful purpose at all if it was contaminated by someone washing their hands and using it.
If it was not contaminated then there is no point in washing it unless it is dirty and ready for the wash.
If you are washing the towel in the hopes of protecting your family then you can't go sit on the couch together because it means the virus could still be on your hands.
Sat, 2020-03-21 21:54
#292
If you have renters, and one of them is contaminated with Covid-19 on their hands then the entire bathroom has to be sanitized as there are other surfaces that have likely been contaminated. The faucet handles for example. The toilet paper roll for another.
Sun, 2020-03-22 00:33
#293
Wow pondering -- you are having some real comprehension problems with what has been written. I do not want to get into this more becuase clearly it will only be something else you will misread. No idea if you are reading too fast or what but this second last post is not a response to what I said in a few different ways.
Sun, 2020-03-22 01:01
#294
[quote=Sean in Ottawa]
I rent to three people.
[quote=NDPP]
If in Ontario, I hope your tenants are aware that given the economic upheaval and unforseen expenses caused by COVID they needn't pay their landlord the rent this month. Nor can the landlord evict them for it. There is also now a growing lobby to suspend rents altogether for the duration of this crisis. I hope it succeeds.
Sun, 2020-03-22 11:21
#295
316,ooo overall and the US now has the 4th largest number of cases, over 26,000. Canada has 0ver 1,300, and BC has 424 cases
http://www.bccdc.ca/about/news-stories/stories/2020/information-on-novel-coronavirus
Sun, 2020-03-22 11:24
#296
Sobering
The global number of coronavirus cases doubled in a week to more than 300,000. Spain reported a 30% jump in deaths for a third consecutive day.
Sun, 2020-03-22 11:47
#297
Disappointing to see some Canadians favoured over others with financial assistance. Cheques need to be sent out to all Canadians to help them through this SARS-C0V-19 created financial mess
Sun, 2020-03-22 13:13
#298
If in Ontario, I hope your tenants are aware that given the economic upheaval and unforseen expenses caused by COVID they needn't pay their landlord the rent this month. Nor can the landlord evict them for it. There is also now a growing lobby to suspend rents altogether for the duration of this crisis. I hope it succeeds.
They know it is my only income and they are not like you. Yes they know.
You are a real piece of work.
The one benefit of this crisis is that people like you are being exposed for what they really are.
ETA: I think they also know that if the house collapses financially they are not protected. 2 of three have income from employers and a third has EI. I am doing all I can to help them in many ways including cooking food. Thankfully there is nobody like NNPP in this house. I am not sure how these protections extend to room rentals and I have not checked. The people in my house are close and cooperative with each other. The idea that they, with more money than me would want to take advantage of me this way is an NDPP idea that thankfully does nto exist here. The extent of bank protections for mortgage holders is also not clear as people seeking this have been refused.
NDPP I think this says a tremendous amount about your character. I will never, ever, forget this comment. It truly represents the kind of person I now understand you to be.
Sun, 2020-03-22 14:29
#299
"The one benefit of this crisis is that people like you are being exposed for what they really are."
Please stop your fighting with people.
Sun, 2020-03-22 14:52
#300
If in Ontario, I hope your tenants are aware that given the economic upheaval and unforseen expenses caused by COVID they needn't pay their landlord the rent this month. Nor can the landlord evict them for it. There is also now a growing lobby to suspend rents altogether for the duration of this crisis. I hope it succeeds.
Yup they can just evict you the minute that restrictions clears. In fact they can go through all the motions to get an eviction but not execute it until they remove that restriction
Hey great that the worry is over, get out today
Sun, 2020-03-22 15:05
#301
This is no black swan
He Saw the Coronavirus Coming
It was only a matter of time.
https://slate.com/podcasts/what-next/2020/03/why-humans-are-responsible-for-the-coronavirus